A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge sentenced a 37-year-old man Friday to 25 years in prison without parole for a series of carjackings in Silver Spring.
Leslie Lee pleaded guilty on June 22 to charges of armed carjacking and carjacking for two incidents that transpired in Nov. 2021.
Lee also pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in connection to an unrelated domestic violence incident, a spokesperson from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
The first carjacking occurred in broad daylight on Nov. 7 at the Exxon gas station along the 3000 block of Briggs Chaney Road. A 68-year-old woman was sitting in a parked vehicle while her daughter was inside the store. Lee got into the driver’s seat and ordered her out, fleeing with the vehicle and the victims’ belongings inside, according to court records.
Police released the following surveillance video from the carjacking:
The second carjacking occurred on Nov. 8 in a parking lot in the 13900 block of Castle Boulevard—less than one mile away from the previous carjacking. A 29-year-old man was in the driver’s seat of his vehicle when he was approached by Lee, who asked him for a ride. The man declined and Lee then pointed a gun at the victim, forcing him out of the car. Lee then fled in the car with several of the victim’s belongings, according to court records.
The next day Lee attempted to use the victim’s Apple Credit Card at Maryland Farms Liquor in Beltsville. A detective responded to the store and was able to obtain the following surveillance video:
“The victims in these carjacking cases described fearing for their lives. This is an appropriate sentence as the defendant used fear and intimidation to target victims at random,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said. “He will now be off the streets for a significant period of time.”
